In An Hour
by Daelena
Summary: Alice's reflection on the events of the mini-series and the after-effects. A companion piece to "Madder Things Have Happened, Right?"


_Disclaimer - Not making any money off of this. Nope. Nothing. Zilch. If I was making money, I'd have Hatter in lots of lovely hats. *sigh* _

_A Companion Piece to "Madder Things Have Happened, Right?" It's Alice's reflection on the events of the mini-series and the after-effects, when she realized that she had fallen in love with the ever adorable (and hat-clad) Hatter._

_I'm thinking about doing a multi-chapter fic about the evolution of Hatter and Alice's relationship in the "Real World," after he left Wonderland to be with her. Thoughts? Should I? Or shouldn't I?_

In An Hour

Waking up in the hospital – lying in that bed, attached to those god-awful machines –had been, by far, the most heart-wrenching, terrible thing that had ever happened to her, even more so than her father leaving them or facing down the Jabberwocky or staring down the Queen of Hearts. At least now, she knew (at least she thought she did) that he wasn't coming back and why. That, despite everything that had happened, he still loved her and her mother with all of his heart. But still –

She had only been gone for an hour.

That's what her mother had said, much to her shock. She had been gone for _an hour_. And some nice construction worker had found her, calling for help when she had fallen and hit her head.

Falling, she remembered. She had done a whole lot of falling. That last one (or at least the last one she thought she remembered) back through the Looking Glass had been particularly bad. Had she just fallen once? And hit her head really hard?

But it had all seemed so real. And everything made so much more sense now.

Besides, even if had all been a dream, why hadn't Jack come to see her? Even if she had turned his marriage proposal (twice, if she recalled), he should have felt obliged to come and see her. Shouldn't he? Especially since he had been the reason that she had left, fallen, and ended up in the hospital as a result.

But – if she had only been gone an hour and hadn't _really_ been to Wonderland – Hatter wouldn't exist, not out of her imagination.

That's what really made her heart break – more so than any other heart break.

She trusted Hatter, beyond a doubt and with everything in her very being. He was a good man, had a kind heart, and was a mostly gentle soul (if one didn't earn a nice, strong right hook from him – that fist was deadly, she had quickly realized, and she had meant to have a talk to him about it). It had been his laugh (and the easy, lazy smile that usually accompanied said laugh) that had made her really notice him as an attractive male. Of course, she knew that he was good-looking, albeit one with an oddball sense of style and impossibly unruly hair (which she secretly loved). She had thought so the first time she saw him, in his office in his tea shop, when he had spun around in his chair. But then, she had been too worried about stupid Jack Chase – Jack Heart, she quickly amended.

And, his hat, of course. He had to have his hat. He was a Hatter, after all. It hadn't taken too long for her to realize that he had a tendency to take his hat off and play with it, doing tricks with it, rolling it up and down his arms, flipping it lazily from hand to hand as if he was using magic. She once wondered if it was just out of habit or if he was trying to impress her with his skills. Because, honestly, she thought it might be both.

By the time she was release from the hospital, Alice had resigned herself to the fact that Hatter (and Wonderland, as a whole) had been a figment of her imagination. Though that couldn't stop her from being completely and hopelessly in love with someone she would never, ever see (at all or again).

So she thought.

Fate, it would seem, had other plans for her. Plans, it would appear, set into motion by her mother of all people.

Her mother had been raving about the young man – the construction worker – who had found her. Said that he had seemed genuinely concerned about her. He had stayed all night at the hospital, apparently, and had even gone so far to bring her tea – her favorite kind, apparently. And he hadn't even asked. He was _such_ a nice, young man (_very sweet_) and Alice might like him. And her mother was right.

In retrospect, the tea thing should have tipped her off. But, by that point, Alice had convinced herself that she was in love with someone who didn't actually exist and so had let that sadness (coupled with the untimely death of her father) cloud her rational thought.

So, to her genuine surprise, when she saw him, standing there by the door, Hatter – _David_ Hatter – seemed extremely nervous, clutching his hat (that blessed, iconic hat) in his hands in a death grip, as if he was worried that she wouldn't remember him or that her mother would suddenly decide that she didn't like him anymore. He wore a very subdued (for Hatter) outfit and had even gone so far to comb his hair into tameness. He didn't have to worry because she had all but thrown herself into his embrace, just barely holding back tears of joy.

Then he kissed her – right there in front of her mother!

After her mother's shocked cough had broken them apart (both of them grinning, well, like mad hatters), she had made up a bumbling excuse about how they knew each other. It had been quite flimsy, when she looked back on it, and her mother hadn't believed it. Alice expected that she wouldn't. They told her the story eventually, once enough time had passed and they were quite settled down.

Hatter never really completely tamed his hair again after that day, not even when he had proposed (they _were _in bed at the time) or when they got married (despite her mother's attempt to convince him to, at least for the pictures). And his hat was always close at hand (he had been creative and had hid the ring in his hat, leaving it conveniently on the bed-side table when he proposed, knowing full well that she had tendency to fiddle with it when they were snuggling in bed – she had picked up some of his tendencies, in her defense).

Years later, when they finally did tell her mother the story of how they met and how they fell in love, she realized how quickly life can change and how quickly a person could fall in love.

After all, she _had_ been gone for only an hour.

_Now go press that shiny button that says 'Review.' I like reviews. They make me feel bubbly inside. _


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